Baseball catcher&#39;s mask

ABSTRACT

A BASEBALL CATCHER&#39;&#39;S PROTECTIVE MASK AND HELMET. THE HELMET WHICH IS TO FIT OVER THE WEARER&#39;&#39;S HEAD IS PROVIDED WITH RESILIENT CLIPS ATTACHED TO THE OUTSIDE THEREOF FOR GRIPPING SIDE PORTIONS OF THE MASK IN DETACHABLE MANNER SO THAT THE MASK MAY BE REMOVED FROM THE HELMET BY GRIPPING THE BOTTOM OF THE MASK AND PULLING IT FORWARD.

p 1971' P. A. ABBATELLI 3,608,039

BASEBALL CATCHER'S MASK Filed Nov. 13, 1969 INVENTOR. PETER A. ABBATELLI ATTORINEYS United States Patent 3,608,089 BASEBALL CATCHERS MASK Peter A. Abbatelli, 833 Nectarine, Sunnyvale, Calif. 94087 Filed Nov. 13, 1969, Ser. No. 876,437 Int. Cl. A42b 1/08 US. Cl. 2-9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A baseball catchers protective mask and helmet. The helmet which is to fit over the wearers head is provided with resilient clips attached to the outside thereof for gripping side portions of the mask in detachable manner so that the mask may be removed from the helmet by gripping the bottom of the mask and pulling it forward.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a baseball catchers protective mask and helmet constructed so that the mask may be quickly removed from the helmet by the wearer thereof.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved baseball catchers protective mask and helmet constructed so that the mask may be quickly removed from the helmet by the wearer during the course of the game if the mask should interfere with the wearers viewing the ball.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved baseball catchers protective mask and helmet constructed to be durable enough to protect the catchers head and face from injury by flying objects such as bats and balls used in the game.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an improved baseball catchers protective mask and helmet made of durable material so as to protect the catchers head and face from injury, said mask being quickly detachable from the helmet by gripping the mask and pulling forward thereon to release the grip of resilient spring clips which are provided to the sides of the helmet at approximately the wearers ear level, said clips normally gripping the sides of the mask and holding it assembled with the helmet.

Other and further objects of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which it relates from the following specification, claims and drawing:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective .view of the mask and helmet assembled;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the mask and helmet;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 33 of FIG. 1 showing one of the resilient spring clips employed for holding the mask assembled with the helmet;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the mask and helmet;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the adjusting lugs provided to the top of the mask and the front of the helmet;

FIG. 7 is a front view of the lug provided to the helmet; and

FIG. 8 is a back view showing the cut away part of the helmet to allow the wearer to tilt his head backward.

Referring to the drawing in detail, reference numeral 10 designates a head protecting helmet which is made of shock-resisting material such as plastic or metal. The helmet 10 is provided with a plurality of holes 11 which serve not only to ventilate the inside of the helmet but also reduce the weight thereof. The inside of the helmet is provided with suitable conventional cushioning or padding to make wearing the helmet more comfortable. The sides of the helmet extend downward over the wearers ears down toward his neck to protect the sides Patented Sept. 28, 1971 of the wearers head. A chin strap 12 is attached to the lower parts of the sides of the helmet for holding it positioned on the wearers head. The front of the helmet is cut away so that the face of the wearer is exposed and gives the wearer an unobstructed view when the mask 13 is removed from the helmet.

The mask 13 is also of shock resisting material, such as plastic or metal, so that it protects the wearers face from flying objects such as baseballs, bats and the like employed in the game. Resilient clips 14 are positioned on opposite sides of the helmet approximately at the wearers ear level and they are fastened to the helmet by fastening means such as the rivets 15. Opposite sides of the mask 13 are provided with extensions 16, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, and these extensions are provided with slightly bulging parts 17, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, which parts are adapted to be gripped by the resilient spring clips 14 when the mask is attached to and supported on the helmet. The sides 10a of the helmet extend a short distance forward of the spring clips 14 and the surfaces thereof are provided with resilient grommets 10b that engage the shoulders 18 of the opposite sides of the mask, to limit the distance the parts 17 may enter the clips 14 so that the clips grip these parts firmly.

Each of the clips 14 is provided with an indentation substantially in the middle thereof and the raised portion 14a opposite this indentation is adapted to be received in any one of the recesses 17a in the part 17 of the mask so that the height of the mask with respect to the helmet may be adjusted by causing the raised part 14a of the spring clip 14 to be lodged in different ones of the recesses 17a.

The mask 13 is shaped to provide ample space between it and the wearers face. The top part of the mask however engages the upper front part of the helmet and, if desired, the sides of the mask may be pivotally attached to the helmet at 16a so that the mask may be swung over the top of the helmet. When the mask is to be removed from the helmet or swung over the top thereof the bottom part 13a of the mask is gripped by the wearer and pulled forward and upward. Mask 13 is also pro-vided with openings to reduce the weight thereof and also to enable the wearer to see properly during the playing of the baseball game. The members forming the grid-like structure of the mask are formed with rounded or oval cross sections.

The top part of the mask is provided with a lug 13b extending into and engaging the sides of the V-shaped recess of the lug 10c attached to the helmet. These lugs serve to align the mask 13 properly with the helmet when the mask is placed on the helmet by the wearer. Thus, the wearer places the mask with the lug 13b in the V- shaped recess of the lug 10c and then presses the bulging parts 17 on the sides of the mask into the clips 14. The lugs 13b and also serve to hold the mask at the right level so that the eye slot of the mask is centered with respect to the wearers eyes. In order that this level be properly determined for the individual wearer the lug 100 may be loose when the mask and helmet are purchased so that this lug may be attached to the helmet by the screws furnished therewith at the correct level after the mask and helmet are tried on the wearers head.

While I have shown and described a preferred form of the invention it will be understood that the invention is capable of variation and modification from the form shown so that the scope thereof should be limited only by the proper scope of the claims appended hereto.

What I claim is:

1. In a baseball catchers protective mask and helmet, the combination comprising a helmet shaped to fit over the wearers head, the front of said helmet being open, a mask, said mask having a viewing slot substantially at the wearers eye level, means detachably supporting said mask over the open front of said helmet, said supporting means comprising resilient clip means attached to the sides of said helmet, said resilient clip means detachably gripping side portions of said mask for supporting said mask, and mask and helmet aligning means comprising means adjacent the top of said mask on the inside thereof mating with means on the front of said helmet, all of said means cooperating to permit said mask to be quickly removed from said helmet upon the wearers gripping the lower part of the mask and pulling said mask outwardly and upwardly from the helmet.

2. In a baseball catchers protective mask and helmet the combination as set forth in claim 1, further characterised in that said clip means are attached to the sides of said hemlet substantially at the wearers ear level.

3. In a baseball catchers protective mask and helmet the combination as set forth in claim 2, further characterised in that said clip means comprises means made of sheet metal and said sides of said mask gripped thereby comprises enlarged portions which are adapted to be clamped between the clip means and opposing sides of the helmet.

4. In a baseball catchers protective mask and helmet the combination as set forth in claim 1, further characterised in that said clip means comprises sheet metal members attached to opposite sides of said helmet for receiving and gripping side portions of said mask, said gripped side portions comprising vertical enlarged portions having a plurality of transverse recesses and said clip means having means adapted to be positioned in different ones of said recesses to prevent said gripped side portion of said mask from moving vertically with respect to said helmet.

5. In a baseball catchers protective mask and helmet the combination as set forth in claim 2, further characterised in that said helmet is provided with side portions extending well below said clip means and the back part of said helmet being cut away to permit the wearers head to be titled back.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS H. HAMPTON HUNTER, Primary Examiner 

